UN reports 'unprecedented' civilian deaths in Afghanistan

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 reached record levels, including a particularly sharp increase in killings and injuries since May when international military forces began their withdrawal, and the fighting intensified following the Taliban's offensive, Report informs, citing the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

UNAMA's Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Update 2021 documents 5,183 civilian casualties (1,659 killed and 3,254 injured), a 47 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2020.

"Of serious concern is the acute rise in the number of civilians killed and injured in the period from 1 May, with almost as many civilian casualties in the May-June period as recorded in the entire preceding four months. The number of civilian casualties during May and June – 2,392 in total (783 killed and 1,609 injured) – was the highest for those months since UNAMA began its systematic documentation in 2009. The period January-April 2021 saw 2,791 civilian casualties (876 killed and 1,915 injured)," the UNAMA report says.

Earlier in April, UNAMA said that in the first three months of the year, the civilian casualties in Afghanistan had risen by almost 30% compared to the same period last year.